d3000 at night?

[Ripple Effect]

I'm pretty new at photography. I have the Nikon D3000, with the 18-55 lens, and today I just received the Nikon 50mm AF lense. It doesn't have autofocus with the d3000 though.

SO my problem is taking photos at night. This may sound like a stupid question, but I'm really stuck at what to do here. D3000 doesn't have live view, so how am I to take pictures at night? I can't see the subject at all through the viewfinder because it's so dark so how am i to get a good shot? On top of that I'm using a manual lens so I have to make sure the subject is in the right view AND that they are sharp enough.

A number of Nikon's don't have live view but it doesn't seem to be a problem to anyone, so does it just take a lot of practice and trial and error? or am I missing something crucial? thanks!

[i speak in math]

have your subject hold up a small flashlight next to their head and either focus on the light, or have them illuminate their face and focus on that.

I've had plenty of opportunities to purchase lenses for my D3000 that didn't integrate with the autofocus system. I've avoided every one of them. I feel your pain, but seeing your post just reinforces that decision.

If it were me, and it's not, I'd dump the non-cooperative lens and purchase the AF-S series lens with the built in autofocus motor that happily integrates with your D3000.

You could also simply relegate it to daytime use only.

I'm not sure there's a practical, viable solution. But if there is, I'm sure someone here will suggest it!

Bakeys

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by Bakeys

If it were me, and it's not, I'd dump the non-cooperative lens and purchase the AF-S series lens with the built in autofocus motor that happily integrates with your D3000.

Even with the AF-S versions, the system may not be able to autofocus accurately in extremely low light situations.

Even with the AF-S versions, the system may not be able to autofocus accurately in extremely low light situations.

The D3000 is equipped with an AF-Assist illuminator. During low light conditions when the shutter is pressed half way, a light on the camera illuminates the subject. The AF system uses this light to focus. It works reasonably well in my experience, although I'm pretty certain it's not 100% reliable.

[OsmosisStudios]

The AF-Assist comes on with an AF lens mounted as well: the body just doesnt focus the lens. Those AF lamps are also NOT foolproof: At anything further than about 6', focus is often off. Having shot in nightclubs, I vastly prefer using a SB unit as a focus aide rather than the AF lamp from the body. It just provides a better system for the camera to lock focus.